When someone mentions “The A-Team,” Hannibal, Face, B.A., and Murdock probably pop into your head, running from the military and helping people along the way. But what if the new A-Team was five people; Michelle Arnoult, Wayne Griffith, Mac McReynolds, Kenny Millbrook and Joe Reasoner, from the Charleston District running straight to the military to help inventory the assets at the Army buildings throughout Hawaii?

Their motives were a little different, but “The A-Team” was the nickname given to the Charleston District team that flew 16 hours to Honolulu to support a new government-wide utility monitoring program developed between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program. This partnership was created to help drive down the federal government’s utility costs in military and government facilities across the country.

In a global effort lead by the Huntsville District, teams from the Charleston, Kansas City and Baltimore Districts readily stepped up to the task to inventory all the assets in Hawaii at Fort Shafter and Tripler Army Medical Center. The team from Charleston had 30 days to inventory the electric, gas, water and steam meters in an endeavor that totaled more than 215 buildings. The inventory effort consisted of photo documentation, collection of nameplate data and identifying the physical location of each meter.

“The Charleston District team was open-minded and willing to take on new tasks, and they were never afraid to learn new things from others,” said Dean Fukuchi, project lead for the Honolulu District, the lead local USACE District.

Not surprisingly, “The A-Team” not only met but exceeded expectations by visiting most of the buildings within two weeks. The Honolulu District was so impressed they tasked two additional sites that included the Military Reservation and East Range, which added an additional 46 buildings. The hard work and dedication of the Charleston District team members is what led to their “A-Team” nickname.

Charleston District supported the other Districts by sharing tips, lessons learned and contacts. Even though the team had years of experience heading into to project, they brought even more knowledge back. The project was an opportunity to utilize skills and knowledge in a new way and come back to Charleston better-prepared to take on the next challenge that arises, and they even brought back pineapples and macadamia nuts to share with their coworkers.